Isaiah Institute Translation

Damascus shall cease to be a cityand become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer shall lie forsakenand become places for herds to recline,where no one will disturb them.3 When Ephraim’s defense comes to an end,so shall the sovereignty of Damascus:as with the glory of the children of Israel,so shall it be with Aram’s remnant,says Jehovah of Hosts.

4 In that day Jacob’s glory shall wane,and his fatness of body become leanness.5 After being like a harvest of ripe grain,whose ears are reaped by the armful,he will become like ears pluckedin the Valley of Rephaim6 when only the gleanings are left,

or when an olive tree is beaten,having two or three berries in the topmost bough,or four or five in its most fruitful branch,says Jehovah, the God of Israel.

7 In that day men will have regard to their Maker,and their eyes look to the Holy One of Israel,8 and regard not the altars,the works of their hands,nor look to things their fingers have made—the idols of prosperity and the shining images.

9 In that day their mighty cities shall be like the deserted towns of the aHivites and Amorites,a which they abandoned before the Israelites during the desolation.

10 For you have forgotten your God, your salvation,and not remembered the Rock, your fortress.Therefore, though you plant choice cropsand sow hybrid seed,11 and though you make them thrivethe day you plant them,causing them to sproutthe very morning you sow them,yet shall the harvest vanishin a day of diseases and incurable pain.

12 Woe to the many peoples in an uproar,who rage like the raging of the seas—tumultuous nations, in commotionlike the turbulence of mighty waters!13 Nations may roar like the roaring of great waters,but when he rebukes them they will flee far away;they will be driven before the windlike chaff on the mountains,or as whirling dust in a storm.14 At evening time shall be the catastrophe,and before morning they shall be no more.This is the lot of those who plunder us,the fate of those who despoil us.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.

6

when only the gleanings are left,

or when an olive tree is beaten,having two or three berries in the topmost bough,or four or five in its most fruitful branch,says Jehovah, the God of Israel.

The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

13

Nations may roar like the roaring of great waters,but when he rebukes them they will flee far away;they will be driven before the windlike chaff on the mountains,or as whirling dust in a storm.

Apocalyptic Commentary

Disaster overtakes the people of Ephraim and their allies for forgetting Jehovah and loving idols.

1 An oracle concerning Damascus:

Damascus shall cease to be a cityand become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer shall lie forsakenand become places for herds to recline,where no one will disturb them.3 When Ephraim’s defense comes to an end,so shall the sovereignty of Damascus:as with the glory of the children of Israel,so shall it be with Aram’s remnant,says Jehovah of Hosts.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:1–3)

Historically allied with the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Aram (Syria) with its capital Damascus was a mostly pastoral country north of Israel’s border. Often known simply as Ephraim (Isaiah 7:2), Israel’s Northern Kingdom formed a league with Aram against the threat of an invasion by Assyria (Isaiah 8:4, 9-10). As types of the end-time, Ephraim and its northern neighbor experience the same demise: when Ephraim’s defenses fail, both countries fail. Although Aram loses its sovereignty and remains a pastoral country, a remnant of its people—as with Ephraim (Isaiah 28:1-5)—survives.

4 In that day Jacob’s glory shall wane,and his fatness of body become leanness.5 After being like a harvest of ripe grain,whose ears are reaped by the armful,he will become like ears pluckedin the Valley of Rephaim6 when only the gleanings are left,

or when an olive tree is beaten,having two or three berries in the topmost bough,or four or five in its most fruitful branch,says Jehovah, the God of Israel.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:4–6)

Having been born into the covenant blessings of wealth and privilege, the rising generation of Jehovah’s people—here identified as a Jacob/Israel category—now faces poverty and scarcity. Although former harvests were plentiful, the earth’s “harvest” of Jehovah’s Day of Judgment sees the few elect who remain gathered out like mere “gleanings” from such an abundance before covenant curses become irrevocable (Isaiah 24:13; 27:12-13). The rest of Jehovah’s people—those of Jacob/Israel who don’t repent and return—seek to survive in what literally becomes a valley of “rephaim” or “ghosts.”

7 In that day men will have regard to their Maker,and their eyes look to the Holy One of Israel,8 and regard not the altars,the works of their hands,nor look to things their fingers have made—the idols of prosperity and the shining images.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:7–8)

In the time of leanness, the works of men’s hands that people idolize—by which they unknowingly beget calamities or covenant curses—are discerned for what they are: false gods that preoccupy them, that waste resources and divert their hearts from the true God (v 10; Isaiah 2:7-8, Isaiah 2:7-8, 20; 27:9-10; 30:22; 31:7; 42:17; 27:9-10; 30:22; 31:7; 42:17). While prosperity may be a blessing, it can also become a curse. When dire straits befall humanity, people instinctively turn back to their Maker, the Creator of all things, and look to the Holy One of Israel, their teacher and exemplar (Isaiah 10:20; 26:16-18; 48:17; 63:15-19; 64:1-12).

9 In that day their mighty cities shall be like the deserted towns of the aHivites and Amorites,a which they abandoned before the Israelites during the desolation.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:9)

When the Israelites conquered the Land of Canaan under the leadership of Moses and Joshua, Jehovah commanded them to slay men, women, and children because the iniquity of the Hivites, Amorites, Amalekites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites who dwelt there was full (Genesis 15:16; Exodus 23:23; Deuteronomy 3:6; Numbers 21:35). Now that the iniquity of Jehovah’s people themselves is full, they meet the same fate (Isaiah 1:4, 7; 26:21; 59:12-19). Once Jehovah takes the righteous out from among them, the wicked left behind in the land fall prey to their enemies (Isaiah 57:1).

10 For you have forgotten your God, your salvation,and not remembered the Rock, your fortress.Therefore, though you plant choice cropsand sow hybrid seed,

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:10)

If Jehovah’s people had remembered their ancestors’ beginnings—how Jehovah delivered them from their afflictions—they might have avoided yet another regrettable repetition of history. The parallel terms “salvation” and “Rock” show that Israel’s God personifies salvation, that he is their rock or refuge in the time of trouble (Isaiah 12:2; 62:11). His people’s relationship with him is personal: “I myself am Jehovah; apart from me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11); “Ever trust in Jehovah, for Jehovah, Yah, is an everlasting Rock” (Isaiah 26:4; emphasis added). To be saved, they must come to him.

10 For you have forgotten your God, your salvation,and not remembered the Rock, your fortress.Therefore, though you plant choice cropsand sow hybrid seed,11 and though you make them thrivethe day you plant them,causing them to sproutthe very morning you sow them,yet shall the harvest vanishin a day of diseases and incurable pain.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:10–11)

No matter how hard people labor or how sophisticated their agricultural methods, they have no defense against adverse weather—a covenant curse (Isaiah 15:6; 42:15). Nor do they perceive that it is Jehovah who raises up their enemies against them, who empowers them to invade their land and lay it waste (Isaiah 9:11-12; 10:5-6; 21:1-2). The “day of diseases and incurable pain”—Jehovah’s Day of Judgment—leaves the sick and ailing of humanity without medical resources or healing cures: “The curse devours the earth, for those who dwell on it have incurred guilt” (Isaiah 24:6; cf. 1:5-6).

12 Woe to the many peoples in an uproar,who rage like the raging of the seas—tumultuous nations, in commotionlike the turbulence of mighty waters!

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:12)

As a power of chaos that floods the earth (Isaiah 8:7-8; 28:2, 15, 18-19), the king of Assyria/Babylon’s alliance of nations echoes his “uproar,” “rage,” “tumult,” and “commotion” against Jehovah’s people: “Hark! A tumult on the mountains, as of a vast multitude. Hark! An uproar among kingdoms, as of nations assembling: Jehovah of Hosts is marshaling an army for war” (Isaiah 13:4). Although the wicked of the world perish at the hands of Assyria’s hosts—the wicked thus destroying the wicked—their evil alliance is itself destroyed, as signified by Jehovah’s “woe” or covenant curse (Isaiah 14:25).

13 Nations may roar like the roaring of great waters,but when he rebukes them they will flee far away;they will be driven before the windlike chaff on the mountains,or as whirling dust in a storm.14 At evening time shall be the catastrophe,and before morning they shall be no more.This is the lot of those who plunder us,the fate of those who despoil us.

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who personifies salvation to his repentant people but whom his alienated people have forgotten, unmindful of the source of their blessings.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah God of Israel, who acts as a stronghold and sanctuary to his repentant people amidst the perils that befall the world's wicked inhabitants in his Day of Judgment.

green

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

A pseudonym of Jehovah's end-time servant and those who vanquish the forces of chaos as they reconquer the earth for Jehovah from the power of the king of Assyria/Babylon and his alliance.

blue

(17:13–14)

Those who “plunder” and “despoil” Jehovah’s people and the nations are the archtyrant and his evil alliance (Isaiah 10:5-6, 13-14). They may get stirred up against his people as the Sea is stirred up (Isaiah 5:30), or burst their banks and overflow all lands like the great and mighty waters of the River (Isaiah 8:7), but Jehovah will turn them into flying dust and chaff. Not only does the archtyrant resemble a wind and storm that devastates the nations (Isaiah 40:24; 57:13), Jehovah’s servant, too, resembles these elements when he vanquishes him and delivers Jehovah’s people (Isaiah 11:15; 41:16; 45:8).